Why ScarJo Will Battle Chris Evans in Captain America: Civil War

Do we now know which super-powered fists will be smashing into which photogenic jaws during Captain America: Civil War? Sure, ever since Robert Downey Jr. joined the cast of Captain America 3, we’ve known that Tony Stark and Steve Rogers would come to blows. Not only is the film based on a famous comic book storyline (entitled Civil War), but the Avengers franchise has done a solid job of setting up the antagonism boiling beneath the surface of their uneasy alliance.

But what about the rest of the Avengers? Tony and Steve’s tiffs and Bruce Banner’s temper tantrums aside, they all seemed to get along decently well in the past. Well, all that camaraderie is out the window in Civil War and, sadly, we’re going to see Black Widow throw down against her friends Hawkeye and Cap. From the looks of the new concept art that’s surfaced online, and earned Twitter approval from Jeremy Renner, the two warring factions break down as follows. Team Stark includes Black Widow, War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), and Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). The red background and battle-ready poses make them seem like the bad guys in this dust up.

Did you miss Rudd? Look closely at Hawkeye’s right shoulder. This team seems much more sedate compared to Stark’s crew and it’s hard to imagine Steve ever being the bad guy. But the issue that splits the Avengers—a proposed superhero registration act—means that the fight likely won’t be as simple as bad versus good. These are all good guys and heroes who happen to be on the opposite side of a very emotional issue.

The moral complexity of this conflict looks to produce some strange bedfellows. It’s odd to see Black Widow ally herself with Tony against her closest friend, Clint. It’s possible that Hulk’s absence here is the key to all that. With Hulk in self-imposed exile over the destruction he’s caused, his dearest friend (Tony) and best girl (Natasha) may be particularly invested in making sure no super-powered individual is ever able to cause that kind of damage again. It’s also strange that, despite her large role in the Captain America: Civil War footage Marvel showed at D23, Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch is missing from all this concept art. That may be because rumor has it Wanda was a late addition to the new Avengers lineup so if this concept art is very old, then that would explain the absence of Scarlet Witch. Still, very curious.

All in all, this is going to be an odd film. The absence of both Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor means a lot of B-team players are stepping up into the limelight, and the apparent prominence of Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter is a particular surprise. But it’s also important to remember that the conflict between the superheroes isn’t even the movie-long plot of Captain America: Civil War. At some point these pissed-off Avengers are going to have to join forces to fight Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo. So between all that plot, and all these characters, Marvel’s next outing has a lot to tackle. And, oh yeah, don’t forget Spider-Man.